The Walls Have Ears

When you are working through the Royal Blood story quest, you will have the chance to investigate to determine whether or not Prince Stennis is guilty of poisoning Saskia. Start by talking to the peasants and you'll activate this optional story quest.

(LEFT) 'Talk to the peasant to see what you can find.' (RIGHT) 'You can find notes that the priest left, just sitting on his table.'

After talking to the peasants, be careful to talk to no one else who is gathered in the hallway. Head out of the area where the peasants are gathered and start downhill to find the elves gathered around a house. They're guarding Willy, the man who accused Stennis of poisoning Saskia. When you talk to him, you can use your magic to convince him gently that he should tell you everything he knows. That discussion winds up making a now-deceased priest sound guilty in the poisoning, but you still need more information if your plan is to convince anyone.

Your next step in the search for information is to find Cecil Burdon, who can hopefully lead you to the priest's house. When you find Burdon, ask him where Reverend Olcan lived. Burdon will mark your next destination for you on your map. Now head back outside and start back through Vergen. Use the on-screen indicator to find the house, which is located along Vergen's lower level, on the side of the Human Enclave area. Inside, you can search some books scattered on the floor, as well as a dresser in the corner. A search of the latter will yield you some notes from the priest. Now you can head back to where the crowd has gathered outside of the prince's quarters. When you get there, talk to the dwarves that are standing around near the edge of the mob, furthest from the prince's chambers.

You'll speak with a dwarf who claims to have made the chalice from which Saskia drank. You can ask him some questions about the chalice. When you ask both available questions, a third one becomes available: “Any chance that two identical goblets were produced?” When you ask that question, events will follow. Make sure that you help the prince get a fair trial as you temporarily resume the Royal Blood quest. When that concludes, you will find that the Suspect: Thorak side quest is now available in your quest log. To complete this story quest, you'll need to finish that other side quest.